Mike & Karen Ch. 33

"Well now, this is unusual," Karen mentioned as she walked down the Hall of Ancestors with her younger sister. In so many ways, Karen and Alexa were very much alike, but in others they were so very different. Karen was regal and sophisticated in appearance, while Alexa looked like a spirit of joy and celebration.

They were both tall, just a shade under six feet, and possessed of a gorgeous, statuesque build. They both had large breasts and long dancer's legs. Neither girl would have been able to become a ballerina, despite their talent, because of their height and their busts.

Karen wore her shining bronze hair in a fashionable bob, and the cut complemented her intimidating golden eyes. Nobody could endure her glance for long, except her giant husband, Michael. Alexa's long, golden blonde hair was thick and lustrous, falling to the back of her knees, and her eyes were a dancing sapphire blue. Her smile was dazzling and made you want to laugh, whereas Karen's felt like a gift when you saw it.

Together, the sisters, Karen Gordon-DeBourne and Alexandra Blackwell, were a force few could contend with. One were best off just being on their good side to begin with and letting them have their way.

"I mean, I don't doubt it around this place, but y'havent told me what exactly is unusual," Alexa mentioned as she walked beside her sister, flipping off the portrait of Curzon Blackwell as they passed it. Giving their ancestors the finger was something of a tradition between them, one Karen had happily inducted her baby sister into.

Given that Alexa was almost thirty years younger than Karen, the 'baby sister' reference wasn't all that far off. But one would never know it to look at them. Alexa was pleased and relieved to know what she'd look like at fifty, based on Karen's appearance.

"One of our guests is arriving early," Karen answered, flipping off Grayson Death Blackwell on her wall of the long gallery. She spent so much time lifting her arm to give these old ogres the finger that she was fairly certain it counted as calisthenics. "Ashley Constantine-Blackwell is arriving, and she brought her daughter Trinian."

"I haven't met her yet, have I?" Alexa queried, checking her mental Rolodex. Even she couldn't remember the entire Blackwell family. Maybe only Kar or Mike went to the trouble. The again, she'd been back for less than a year, so she gave herself a pass.

Karen shook her head. "She lives in Tobermory on the end of the Bruce Peninsula, and I haven't seen her since just after Trinian was born. She has Blackwell blood on the Constantine side of her family a few generations back, and she married my third cousin Geoffrey Blackwell, hence the hyphenated name. Trinian's surname is simply 'Blackwell', I am told."

"Any idea why they're arriving so early? Not that I mind one way or the other," Alexa asked.

"Not in particular, but she is coming in Geoffrey's place, since he happens to be abroad on business in Dubai," Karen answered. It never ceased to amaze her how long this hallway was; this entire conversation had taken place along its length. Talking with people kept the walk from feeling interminable. "I am just as happy she is coming in his place; Geoffrey can be rather like Roddy, he's insufferable. Michael has had to straighten him out more than once."

"How smart can he be if it's more than once?" the blonde girl mused. "Even uncle Roddy was just a 'once' person."

"Bif is probably the second most gifted person in our generation, and indeed the family, after you and myself," Karen explained casually. "His ego aside, he is an utterly brilliant businessman. Very good at polo, tennis, and golf, too."

"Two of those are my least favourite sports," Alexa muttered, making Karen titter and squeeze her sister's hand. "Do they get the formal welcome?"

Karen shook her head. "The boys are meeting us in the foyer, that is good enough. We cannot have formal greetings for everyone arriving, or the staff will never get any work done, Alli."

"True enough," Alexa laughed. "Alrighty, let's go and meet our guests..."

They emerged into the grand foyer, where Michael and Alex were already waiting for them. Like the girls, they were dressed casually. Ashley was family without being a VIP. The only two Blackwells who would be present and get that treatment were Earl Bolingbroke and Baroness Belasyse, representing their father the Marquess. Lord Blackwell himself couldn't come, because he was well into his nineties, and also quite off his nut.

"Perfect timing, Gordon, as always," Mike said cheerfully as he hugged his wife while Alex hugged Alexa. Mike hugged Alexa then, and Alex hugged his mother, who gave him an affectionate kiss on the cheek. It pleased her so much that he smelled like a DeBourne man. "Now we're just waiting on a certain-"

"I'm sorry I'm late, Master, Mistress," Valentina panted as she scurried down the stairs, straightening out her outfit. "I'd missed the bit about there being a young Miss Trinian, and thought I'd best change into one of my more conventional outfits for the occasion."

She was indeed wearing a housemaid outfit that matched the one her co-worker, Trilby, would wear. It was black, with white trim, and the skirt fell almost to her knees. Unlike Trilby, though, Miss Prospero had a generous bust, and the more conservative outfit did nothing to conceal that.

Her normal outfit was far more scandalous, with the top showing her impressive cleavage in lace, and the tiny black skirt barely covering her bottom. If she moved too quickly, you had to pray she was wearing panties that day. Val had even managed to leave off the kitty ears she habitually wore.

"Consider it good practice for the next several days, Miss Prospero, since you'll be wearing it while we have guests," Mike pointed out.

"Yes, Master," Val pouted. At least she was still allowed to wear the little black lace choker with the glittering white stone on it, a symbol of her devotion to Mike and Karen, her Master and Mistress in every single way that counted. She curtsied to the four people and trotted over to the front doors to open them.

And just in time, because a rather nice car was pulling up in front of the manor now. Behind the wheel of the Jaguar XF was a pretty woman with honey-blonde hair and blue eyes. She killed the engine and hopped out of the driver's seat, now moving to open the back door and help someone out. Once this was accomplished, she took her daughter's hand and brought her up the marble steps and into the foyer.

"Ashley!" Karen gushed, walking forward and hugging her relative warmly, and Ashley returned it. "So wonderful that you could make it!"

"And I'm glad to be here, Kar, I wouldn't miss this for anything," Ashley sighed happily, rocking back and forth slowly in the hug. "Regards from Geoff, for what that's worth."

"Honestly, Ash, if I had to pick one of you to be here," Karen said, her smile a radiant and honest one. While Ashley hugged Mike, Karen bent at the knees and spoke to her other guest. "Trinian, we haven't seen you since just after you were born. We're glad you made it, and welcome."

"Mnfff, 'snice to see you too," the young girl mumbled, rubbing her eyes and trying not to yawn. She'd obviously just woken up. "My name is Trinian, I am pleased to meet you."

Karen had knelt down to talk to Trinian, while Alex was giving the child an amused look, and Alexa was staring somewhat blatantly. Trinian was of average height for an eight-year-old girl, but she had lots of golden blonde hair, and her eyes were a sapphire blue.

"Guess I won't have to check your old photo albums anymore if I forget what you looked like, eh?" Alex teased, giving Alexa the smirk now. Alexa was still just staring at the girl.

"Alex, you scamp, you've grown so much!" Ashley said now as she hugged her very distant nephew. "You'll be as big as your father soon!"

"Please, no, don't encourage him," Karen seemed to plead, still hugging the waking Trinian. "The child is big enough as he is."

"Good to see you, Aunt Ash," Alex said with his easy charm women everywhere loved. "Been a hot minute, for sure. You look the same as ever."

"I'll take that as a compliment," she said, still holding him but pulling back enough to give him a wink. She then turned to look at Alexa. "Oh, my God... Kar, you weren't kidding, at all..."

Ashley went up to Alexa and looked up into her eyes. Like Karen, Alexa was about half a head taller than Ashley, and the older woman put the back of her fingers on Alexa's cheek, gently stroking to make sure she was real.

"I can see Miranda in her, but she's also so Blackwell," Ashley murmured almost in wonder. "Every bit as gorgeous as you, too, Kar."

She looked back and forth between Alex and Alexa now. "And I've been told you two are getting married? Please tell me I'm invited to the wedding."

"It's in Versailles next summer, so mark off your calendar, Ash," Mike said, still towering over everyone while Valentina took Ashley's shawl from her. "You were already on the invite list."

Trinian finally seemed to wake up, and greeted Mike next, looking up at him.

"You're so tall," the girl murmured. "Are you a giant like Hagrid?"

She then hugged Mike's leg and the huge man chuckled and put a hand on top of the little blonde girl's head before she moved on to Alex.

"You look a lot like me," Trinian said as she observed him. "But you're a boy, so I guess that's okay."

"Glad to hear it, because I've got no other way to be," Alex laughed, while Karen and Ashley giggled. They could already tell that they had a precocious child on their hands, just hopefully not a terror like Percy. They hadn't quite figured out how the meeting between Trinian and Percy would go down yet. Thankfully, there would be other children present as well.

Trinian moved to the last person she needed to greet, but stopped dead. If she'd stared at Mike, she simply goggled at Alexa, her own blue eyes wider than her little face seemed to allow. Alexa bent down into a squat so that she was eye-level with the guest.

"Hi, Trinian, I'm Alexa," she chimed, holding out her hand. Trinian took the hand, but it wasn't certain if she knew she was doing it, or this was a borderline autonomic response. She just continued staring dumbly at Alexa's face, now so close to her own. "It's very nice to meet you."

"You're so beautiful," the little girl breathed, still lost in wonder. "I'm Trinian. My name's Trinian. Hi, I'm Trinian."

"I know, and I'm Alexa," Alexa repeated while everyone else looked on in amusement.

"Is that... is that short for Alexandra?" Trinian asked, daring against hope.

"It is," Alexa confirmed, nodding. "But you can call me Alexa."

Trinian shook her head. "No, you're Alexandra. That name suits you. It's beautiful like you."

She almost threw herself against Alexa in a hug, who restrained a squeak of surprise and then put her arms around the girl for a moment. She cast a sidelong glance up at everyone else, who just smirked back at her.

"C'mon, you can show me around," Trinian chirped now, pulling back from the hug and taking Alexa by the hand. "I bet you know everything fun about this place, it's so much bigger than my house!"

Trinian then began trotting out of the foyer and down one of the halls, dragging Alexa with her. The tall blonde looked back at everyone else helplessly, but to her distress, they all just shrugged. Seconds later, she disappeared around a corner, with Trinian still babbling excitedly.

"Well, that gives those two a hobby," Karen mused while Ashley giggled. "Is she prone to developing crushes on girls?"

"I've never seen her express any interest in anyone of any gender that wasn't her own reflection in a mirror," Ashley responded. "I didn't expect that."

"Looks like you'll be handling Alli's workload for the preparations as well, Alex," his father pointed out.

"Not a problem, dad. Anything to give Alexa a little more time with her new bestie," Alex replied cheerfully.

"Rochester, please take your aunt's keys and retrieve her luggage, then get Glenda to park the Jag," Karen instructed her son before snapping and pointing with a tip of her hand. "Go."

"On it, Mr. Benny," Alex said readily, taking the keys from Ashley. "She's in Currie, right?"

Even the guest rooms had names related to famous family members, or people well-known to the Blackwells. The Currie room was named after General Sir Arthur Currie, who had stayed in the room as a member of Canada's contribution to the British Expeditionary Force in the Great War.

"You're the one who is supposed to know where everyone is placed, child, but yes," Karen confirmed with a nod. "Ashley and Trinian are in Currie."

Alex paused and looked down the hallway where Alexa and Trinian had disappeared. "I dunno, I may not have a bed tonight. Might end up bunking with Aunt Ash at this rate."

"Go, you scoundrel," Karen managed to say through a laugh while Ashley and Val both began giggling as he took off. Karen now took her cousin's arm and began leading her up the grand staircase, with Mike and Val following. "Shall we repair to Dunsany, my dear? There are plenty more people for you to meet, including a countess and a baronetess."

"Are Lisa, Janet, and Mona here yet?" Ashley asked as they ascended.

"Naturally," Karen answered with a nod. "They'll be delighted to see you again."

"Good, I always had a bit of a crush on Mona," Ashley said with an affected blush and fanning herself for effect.

"Are you into girls these days?" her hostess asked in a lilting voice that made sure Ashley knew any answer was perfectly okay.

"Boys or girls, it doesn't matter. I've had some indiscretions while Geoff is abroad, which is most of the time," she said simply. "I know he's had his share, I've seen his travel expenses."

"You'll fit in well around this place," Mike assured her, making all three women laugh.

***

A dormitory, Wednesday, 1987...

"Can you believe it?" Janet gushed as she almost skipped in circles around Karen while they walked down the hallway together. "Less than two more months of this place and then we have our own pad!"

"As much as I have enjoyed my social experiment here with adult campus life, I admit I am looking forward to the relative stability and peace and quiet of a real house," Karen agreed, walking along with her books lightly held to her chest but out at a slight angle. With her, it wasn't an insular or defensive gesture, it was more of a way to tease, since everyone knew about the size of her bust. She'd never been particularly averse to showing it off, as long as she made it look classy.

"Oh, c'mon, it's not just about quiet study nights for perfect grades, Princess," Janet teased, still dancing around. She was holding a small tape player in her hand, and it was currently blaring out the song 'Papa Don't Preach' by Madonna, which had been such a giant hit the year before. "Think of all the amazing parties we can have."

"If it's all the same to you, Riff Randall, I will strive to find a balance between perfect grades and allowing for a vibrant social life once we are moved in," replied the bronze-haired girl as they walked. "My father still has expectations of me, after all."

"Hey, you're not gonna be a total wet blanket about parties, are you?" the brunette asked, pausing her dancing for a moment. "I mean, yeah, it's your dad getting this place for us, but you're not gonna turn into some dorm mom Nazi, are you?"

Karen shook her head. "Of course not, this is our house. All of us, equally. I don't have any more say than the rest of you, we will treat it completely democratically..."

She couldn't resist a smirk. "... as long as I always get my way."

"You are such a brat!" Janet laughed, beginning to dance again, making other students in the hallway dance with her. "So as long as we obey the rules daddykins puts out for us..."

A nod from Karen. "We just need to respect one another, my dear. I'm sure we can make that happen. You know I love parties, just not at the expense of my grades."

"I know, and I wouldn't wanna disappoint your dad by letting my grades drop in any event, since he's paying for it all up as far as my doctorate. You're not gonna be mad if Bresc'n'me are-"

"Bresc and I," Karen corrected.

"If the two of us're bringin' boys over for a little fun?" Janet continued, ignoring her friend's pedantry.

"I would prefer to not have a vetting rule in place, of course," Karen reasoned. "I just want us all to agree that we won't be keeping guests who are going to disrespect the place and trash it."

"And you know we're gonna keep bringin' DeBourne over for good times, right?" Janet mentioned.

"He is quieter during sex than either of you animals," Karen pointed out, making Janet snicker. It was mostly true, and even though her personal rooms would be on the top floor, and Lisa's, Janet's and Mona's would be on the second, she was fairly certain she would still hear them moaning and wailing during sex. She could deal with that, but DeBourne had a growl when he was climaxing that made her so very wet when she heard it. She hoped that noise didn't carry upstairs.

She pondered the room situation. Her father had agreed to rent the entire house for her, and probably would have done so even if Mona, Janet, and Lisa hadn't been in the picture. But she wanted them to be. They were her friends, her dear friends, after all. And yes, by virtue of agreement with her father, she pretty much had the top floor to herself, meaning a bedroom, a nicely sized bathroom, a study, and other rooms to go with it.

Mona, Janet, and Lisa were sharing the second floor, each of them with a good-sized bedroom, including a small boudoir, and sharing a bathroom with tub and shower. It seemed unfair, but given that none of them had to put any money toward rent, utilities, or even food, they were decidedly not complaining about 'fairness'. This was the best deal ever, as far as they were concerned. Free room and board with their best friends? Nolo contendere.

They reached Janet's dorm room on the second floor and came to a stop. Janet grinned at her friend. "Y'got time to come in? I've got another whole side to this Madonna tape."

"I would love to, but I have a quick meeting about Lucerne to attend in an hour, and I need to go get some notes from my own room," Karen replied, shaking her head and looking apologetic. "But I will absolutely take a rain check. Next time I am down here, we will dance around your room in our underwear to Madonna. Deal?"

"Deal, Princess," Janet said happily, leaning in and giving Karen a big smooch right on the lips. Anyone walking by knew better than to question it. "Mmmm, have a lovely meeting, see you tonight at your party."

"Be there, you hussy," Karen said cheerfully, smiling and winking at her friend before sauntering off, a wiggle in her walk. She made her way upstairs to the third floor and over to her own dorm room, greeting people pleasantly along the way. The room she shared with Lisa was the biggest in the entire dorm, and, thanks to her family's wealth and her aesthetics, magnificently appointed.

She unlocked her door and headed inside, smiling as she saw Lisa lying on her back on her bed, kicking a knee back and forth slowly while reading a comic she had no doubt purloined from DeBourne. The redhead looked over at her and smiled. "Heya, beautiful. How's tricks?"

"I just dropped Remington off at her room," Karen said idly as she placed her books on her study desk and then sighed stretched for a moment, her large breasts jutting forward prominently and getting Lisa's attention. "She seems to be on Cloud Nine about this whole 'moving into our own house' thing, I must admit."